Smashing
by Ravenclaw'd
Summary: Fascinated, Ron said, “How do you get the bubbles to speak?” RL


He was walking around the lake at the time of day when the sun has caught the afternoon at its zenith. Should anyone ask him why he was not bent over some tome with an index for footnotes, he would not under any circumstances admit the true reason. Which was, understandably, that it is most disturbing to watch your best mate with his hand up your other best mate's jumper, and to see (and hear, sickeningly) the latter enjoying this immensely. He would not be capable of uttering such a vulgarity, and would therefore rather say that his eyes hurt—from reading some tome with an index for footnotes, of course.

His exceedingly sore eyes then chose to land upon a slightly younger female at the edge of the lake. The climaxing sunlight fell into the waves of her pale yellow hair, reflecting itself and bestowing a halo-like effect. Her feet were bare, toes tickling the water's surface. She was some sort of fallen angel, one who has accepted the burden of earthly life gracefully enough to still look serenely holy and untouched.

He had the sudden, unbidden thought that were he the giant squid, he would rise out of the depths to be able to touch the silver nail polish on her toes.

She was holding a long, pink rod capped with a circle balanced on its edge. It looked like a bizarre wand out of old stories. She gently blew into the center of the circle and for a moment moved her lips as if speaking into it. A singularly enormous, shimmering bubble emerged from the other side, and to his amazement, floated in his direction.

The bubble exploded in his face, spraying him with a lukewarm fluid that smelled somewhat like a Muggle sanitizing wipe Hermione had once dragged painfully across his face. Strangely, instead of the popping noise he had expected, he heard Luna's voice say clearly, "Hello, Ronald."

He reached her side in a few long, hasty strides and seated himself by her. "Hello, Luna."

She smiled the tranquil smile of someone in the midst of complete peace and said, "Why aren't you inside studying with Harry and Hermione? Your N.E.W.T.s are tomorrow, you know."

"I know," he replied, "but I thought I'd come out for some fresh air."

"That's what I thought, too," Luna said approvingly, "and so here I am. I painted my toenails silver nineteen minutes ago."

Ron hadn't the faintest idea how he could respond intelligently to a fact like that. Luna often said things like that, interesting little tidbits of her life, which constantly reminded him she was unlike any other living girl in every sense possible. It was almost alluring.

Because, of course, he didn't know what to say, he moved closer and politely inspected her toenails as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She wiggled them. "What did you do fourteen minutes ago?" he asked.

"I decided I would paint them silver, of course," Luna said airily. "To match the lake, you know. I thought the sun on the water was rather pretty and then I realized I might forget I had thought that, so I painted my toenails to remind me."

"And six minutes before that?"

"I decided I would blow bubbles." As she spoke, she coaxed a series of nearly microscopic bubbles out of what he learned was called the wand. They darted in every direction, ignoring gravity and every law of physics, and burst with a squeaky chorus of "blow bubbles, blow bubbles".

Fascinated, Ron said, "How do you get the bubbles to speak?"

Her breath was warm in his ear as she whispered, "It's a secret."

"Oh," he answered, feeling that with his hormones he probably shouldn't be sitting quite so near to a pretty girl.

Luna pulled away and met his eyes squarely. "You didn't truly come out here for fresh air, did you, Ronald?"

"No," he confessed, staring at her lips as they moved. They were very pink. He slid his feet into the water beside hers.

"You should be studying," she said brightly, without any reproach in her voice. "Although it _is_ rather perfect out here. I think I shall be selfish and ask you to stay out here with me. Will you stay out here with me, Ronald?"

"Of course," he said immediately. Then, impulsively, "I find it difficult to say no to you, Luna."

She positively beamed. "Then will you also blow bubbles with me?"

"I would love to."

"And will you hunt Crumple Horned Snorkacks with me in Sweden?"

"Yes, but only if you pay my fare to Sweden."

"And to reimburse me for paying your fare to Sweden, will you take me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant in Hogsmeade?"

Ron paused, but only for a moment. "I will, once you tell me what your favorite restaurant in Hogsmeade is and when you'd like to go."

She laughed delightedly. "I have to take you to Sweden first, of course, Ronald. It would be terrible of me if I didn't do something that you have to repay me for. Perhaps I can degnome your garden for you. And my favorite restaurant in Hogsmeade is the Three Broomsticks."

"But I don't have a garden at Hog—"

"No, at your house, of course. But you'll have to introduce me to your parents." Luna breathed into the wand again, sending a flurry of square bubbles into the Whomping Willow across the lake.

Ron almost fell into the lake. "Introduce you as what?"

Her blue eyes widened as she laughed again. "Well, as your girlfriend, I expect. After all, Ronald, you agreed to take me out to dinner. Do you have some objection to the arrangement?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be a very good boyfriend, would I?"

"Smashing," Luna cried. She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. "I rather like that word almost as much as I like being your girlfriend, Ronald."

Ron leaned toward her again. "Smashing."


End file.
